Arifin raises to the tough U.S. challenge

By Yenni Djahidin

WASHINGTON D.C. (JP): He is regarded as a good diplomat by many in Washington, D.C. He is bright, articulate and willing to listen to different views. A banker by training, Indonesian Ambassador to the United States Arifin Siregar says he likes his job, which he describes as challenging.

The former trade minister and central bank governor said that, although relations between Indonesia and the United States are good, some issues have damaged the ties.

"The political contribution issue is very disturbing to our good relationship," said Siregar, who loves reading, jogging, and watching old war movies. Issues like East Timor, human rights and democracy have continued to undermine bilateral ties, he said.

His ambassadorship since 1993 is his third U.S. posting. He previously worked as an economist at the United Nations, followed by four years at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C.

"We like Washington. We have a nice place and we have lots of friends here," said Arifin, who has two adult sons. Arifin, who speaks four foreign languages, said his networking with Washington contacts has helped in his job as ambassador.

Ambassador Arifin, who got his doctorate in economics with magna cum laude from Munster University in Germany, recently spoke with Media Indonesia's Washington correspondent Yenni Djahidin at his office to discuss the current state of Indonesian-U.S. relations. Here are excerpts of the interview.

Question: How do you describe relations between the U.S. and Indonesia?

Arifin: For the last four or five years, the relationship between the U.S. and Indonesia has been good as can be seen from trade figures. In 1996, two-way trade reached $10.2 billion, with Indonesia exporting $8.2 billion and importing $4 billion. So, Indonesia had a surplus. American investment has been increasing in the past few years. American businesspeople have shown a growing interest in Indonesia, as reflected by their questions, their presence at our business seminars, and many trade missions to Indonesia. They are mostly interested in infrastructure, telecommunications and transportation.

In politics, the relationship is also good as reflected from the close personal relations between President Soeharto and President Bill Clinton. In 1995, they met in the White House and have met again at the annual APEC summits. They usually have a good discussion. We, at the embassy here, also try to make Americans understand Indonesia. Americans tend to focus their interest on certain countries, and Indonesia is not one of them.

Lately, there have been more articles about Indonesia, but unfortunately since the beginning of the American presidential campaign last year, several unfortunate things have happened.

First, the campaign finance issue where media reports said the Riady family, through former Lippo Group official John Huang, allegedly gave money to influence the Clinton administration. That, of course, was used by certain groups who have a negative view on Indonesia's human rights situation, particularly in East Timor. They said the administration policy is weak toward Indonesia because of the contributions. As a result, many Americans, especially from the administration, are careful in making decisions on Indonesia. This is very disturbing to the relationship.

Around the same time, before the end of 1996, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to East Timorese activists Bishop Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta. This, of course, was used by groups who dislike Indonesia to focus attention on East Timor, especially on Indonesia's human rights records.

These developments are very disturbing and we have done numerous things to try to explain the situation. We have also tried to persuade the administration staff, congress, the mass media, think tanks and NGOs.

We also work together with Americans, who we think of as our friends or have an interest in Indonesia, such as American companies. We emphasize that for a good relationship between the U.S. and Indonesia, it's best to have a good political relationship. We hope that businesspeople will try to give accurate information to their representatives in congress and to the administration and think tanks. That's very important.

The American media are different. Every media has its own policy. We have responded to articles that are not completely true. We have sent letters to newspaper editors, but some papers would not publish our letter if the content was not in accordance with their policy. Or if they published the letter, they would make changes the way they wanted. But overall, I see some significant changes in the press. They are not always negative. They also write about developments in Indonesia. There are some attempts at balance now, although they remain unbalanced when it comes to human rights and democracy.

Q: How do you give information to Americans about Indonesia?

A: In different forms. I give speeches at universities, think tanks, and business associations. I have had lunch with think tank staff and Congressional staff, and visited them. We have also invited several Congressmen to Indonesia. In early August, President Soeharto will receive Craig Thomas, a senator from the Asia-Pacific subcommittee. We also arrange cultural evenings where we invite politicians and the press.

Q: How will the Lippo issue affect relations between U.S. and Indonesia?

A: One important question is how long this campaign finance hearing will last. As you know, this hearing is conducted every day. The media always mention John Huang and Lippo. Not only the administration but also Congress wants to keep it low-key to Indonesia. During the hearings, the administration and congress will be very careful in making any statement about Indonesia.

Q: Do you think relations with the U.S. Administration after President Clinton will be any better?

A: I don't know. That's hard to say. But I can say that when the hearings are finished, maybe the situation will be improved. But we don't know when the hearings will finish. I think it may last until the end of this year or early next year. This issue of Indonesian contributions and influence has also spread to other areas. Reports have also tried to link James Riady and the U.S.- Indonesian Society.

Q: What are the embassy's priorities now?

A: Our priority is that we have to convince our friends that Indonesia is an important country. There are improvements in our economic and political relationships. We try to convince them that Indonesia has many aspects. But because of the advanced technology, people here know what happens in Indonesia within a couple of hours. So, we can't cover up what happened there, especially when it is linked to human rights violations.

Q: How do you react to criticism at home that Indonesian diplomats are not aggressive?

A: It depends. Many people forget that Americans know very quickly what happens in Indonesia. So when something happens in Indonesia, we cannot deny it. The only thing we can do is justify why things happened. Whether it is the East Timor case or (labor activist) Muchtar Pakpahan. We have explained it to them but they say, "Okay, in development you have shown progress. But you've problems with human rights. Is this democracy?" We have tried to justify this. For example, in the Sri Bintang (Pamungkas) case, we told them that he was arrested because he was defaming President Soeharto. But they said that Bintang was arrested because he has a different view from the government. And in the States, they said, it is normal if someone has a different view from the government. So it's difficult to explain to them that we have a different culture.

Q: How do you explain the difference?

A: They said for them it (having a different opinion) is not breaking the law. They said Indonesian law is weird. If we say it's in accordance with our law, they say the law is weird. Why, they ask, should someone with a different view end up in jail? They also have a different view on democracy and human rights.

Q: What's the attitude of American businesspeople toward the issue of leadership succession and the violence during the national elections recently?

A: They are still confident. American businesspeople trust the development of Indonesia, especially in the government's macroeconomic policy. My task is to tell them that whatever happens, even when there is a leadership succession, whoever leads Indonesia, its basic development policy will not change. The basic policy is that the private sector role will be bigger, government intervention in the economy will be reduced, more deregulations and cooperation with foreigners is still important. Maybe there will be adjustments here and there, but the adjustments will not be significant.

American businesspeople have confidence in long-term development in Indonesia. The only thing that hampers the relationships are human rights and democracy issues. I have to explain why it's happened. After the cold war, American foreign policy priority changed. Before, it was fighting communism. That's no longer a factor. The most important issues now are human rights, democracy and the environment. So, if we can't reach an agreement on those issues, let us highlight other issues such as economic and political issues to tell them that Indonesia is an important country in the region.

Q: What are you plans after your term here ends?

A: Personally, I want to go into the private sector. The government wanted me to extend my service here. My term was extended by one year in 1996. Before serving here, I had planned to join the private sector. I have told the government about my intention and I heard that they are now preparing my successor. If allowed, I will go home in November.

Q: How would you describe your term here?

A: There are lots of challenges. I like my job, although the campaign contributions and East Timor issues are very disturbing. The East Timor issue is not only straining relations between Indonesia and the U.S., but also with many other Western countries, like Australia and Japan. As a diplomat, I tried to give a balanced and positive view, but don't forget that people here know what happens in Indonesia very quickly. We can't cover it up. We can only justify why things happened.

Q: How do you think the problem will be resolved?

A: It's very difficult to solve. We have to solve it in Indonesia. As long as the East Timor issue is not settled, our relationship with the U.S. and many western countries will always be disturbed.

Q: What do you think your successor should do?

A: I think he or she should maintain good relations with various groups, such as the business community, think tanks, congress, the press and the administration. I know the most difficult one is the press.